Search This Blog

Pages

The Bees Review

To the casual observer a
beehive is the model of order and functionality – a society built to support itself. Each bee with a purpose and a place, each with a contribution and personally
responsible for the success, or failure, of their community.

In Laline Paull's The Bees the pulsing activity of the
hive conceals a communist dystopia, where obedience and sacrifice are the
governing idioms and variation is abhorred. Governed by Devotion and fear of
individuality, one bee's search for an identity could spell the demise of the
hive. Sanitation worker Flora 717, born too large, too curious, too clever for
her station, has a grander purpose, and her journey from mute servitude of the
lower caste to revered forager challenges the hierarchy of order, and threatens
the Queen herself.
The Bees is a
cultural immersion and anthropological study disguised as a traditional hero's
journey with a healthy dose of dynastic intrigue and cultish fervour.

It's an interesting study in
world-building. Each step of Flora's
journey is built as a spectacular set piece. The seduction of pollination, the
thrill of flight and the horror of excising 'excessive variation' are
highlights, but the attention to world-building at times prove overwhelming to
the story and the plot is often lost to the novelty of the concept and weighed
down by the natural repetition of bee behaviours.

Overall, the intricacy of
detail delivers an enthralling read. The ferocity of the action pieces
contrasts the intricate detail of Flora's exploration of the human world, all
beautifully articulated through scent, heat and movement.